What is the process of Marinating

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Marinades and the Marinating Process:

Let's cover what is a marinade and what is the process of marinating. A marinade is a seasoned mixture that adds flavor and in some cases tenderizes. Marinades are commonly used with thin cuts, such as steaks, chicken, duck or fish.

A flavoring marinade is many times used with tender beef cuts for a short time - 15 minutes to 2 hours.
A tenderizing marinade is used with less tender beef cuts - usually from the chuck, round, flank and skirt.
A tenderizing marinade contains a food acid or a tenderizing enzyme.
Acidic ingredients include lemon or lime juice, vinegar, Italian dressing, salsa, yogurt and wine.
Tenderizing enzymes are present in fresh ginger, pineapple, papaya, kiwi and figs.
Less tender steaks should be marinated at least 6 hours, by no more than 24 hours. Longer than 24 hours will result in a mushy texture.
Tenderizing marinades penetrate about ¼ inch into the meat.
Marinate in a food-safe plastic bag or a nonreactive glass or stainless steel container.
Turn steaks or stir beef strips occasionally to allow even exposure to the marinade.
Allow ¼ to ½ cup of marinade for each 1 to 2 pounds of beef. About half as much can be used for fish or chicken.
ALWAYS marinate in the refrigerator, NEVER at room temperature.
If a marinade will be used later for basting, or served as a sauce, reserve a portion of it before adding the raw beef.
Marinade that has been in contact with uncooked meat MUST be brought to a full rolling boil before it can be used as a sauce.
NEVER save and reuse a marinade.

With these great tips you'll be able to use any marinade effectively and safely.

I often marinate foods before grilling. In fact I will 95% of the time marinate my pork ribs, chicken and some steaks. If you can't afford the high dollar meats like some then you opt for reasonably priced cuts then looks to ways to tenderize the meats and build flavors. Actively I use a combination of dry marinades and wet marinades. I use quite often just simple yellow mustard as a base marinade. I allow the mustard to remain on the meat at a minimum of 2 hours before adding some dry style marinade. Once the mustard has done its job I add on in generous fashion a dry marinade. Some will ask how to you know if the marinade has done its job. You know by examining the texture of the meat before and after the meat marinade has been applied and rested. If the meat appears loose and pliable then the marinade has broken down much of the loose connective tissue making the acceptance of seasoning easier. If the meat still appears tough then it's best to allow the meat to continue marinating to achieve that pliability.

With the meat marinated the seasonings will be absorbed to flavor at a higher level than if the meat was dry.

Take a look at the process and determine what you might consider a meat that can be marinated. Give the process a test and you'll see the results will be well worth it.